This invention relates to molded food products, and, more particularly, to a package for a molded food product which is used to mold the food product and subsequently to package the food product.
Many food products are molded with a decorative design on the outer surface thereof. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,183,101, 3,317,326, 3,398,000, 3,798,335, 3,865,953, 3,896,239, 3,901,000, and 3,976,796 describe butter or margarine products with an embossed or raised design on the upper surface. The butter or margarine can be quarter pound or larger bulk servings or can be smaller pats which are sized for individual servings. Many other food products may be molded with a decorative design, for example, chocolate and cheese.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,798,335 describes a process for filling molds with liquid butter or margarine. In accordance with current practice, after the molds are filled, the butter or margarine is frozen. The frozen product is removed from the mold by “punching” or pressing the outside of the mold cavity so that the mold is turned inside out and the frozen product is ejected or dispensed onto a tray or plastic sheet.
The ejected embossed butter or margarine pats can be packaged for shipping to the customer in several ways. Individual pats can be loaded into a tray of the type which is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,896,239. Alternatively, after the embossed pats are ejected onto a tray, a package with pockets for the pats can be placed over the pats. The tray is then inverted to drop the pats into the pockets, and a lid or cover can be positioned over the pats.
Individual embossed pats can also be loaded into individual packages. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,865,953, 3,901,000, and 3,976,796. Butterball Farms, Inc. of Grand Rapids, Michigan markets individual pats in clear plastic packages called “Tip-Out” packs. Each pat is individually sealed in a pocket in a plastic package, and the pocket is covered by a plastic film. At the point of consumption, the consumer peels off the film and tips out the pat, embossed side up.
The foregoing packaging processes suffer from a number of disadvantages. For example:                The molds are used once and are disposed of after the pats are removed.        The process for punching out the pats and inserting them into a package is labor intensive and expensive.        If the pats become too warm, the pats can fall prematurely from the molds.        Locating the molds before ejecting the pats and locating the packages over the pats is done by eye by the operator and may be inaccurate.        
In one current practice the plastic tray which is used to mold multiple pats of butter or margarine is also used to ship the pats after they are frozen. The mold cavities may be vacuum formed in thin plastic film, e.g., PETG, which is about 0.0025 inch thick. Trays which are used to mold and ship the pats are intended to be used by the institutional customer which purchases the pats, for example, a restaurant. Such a customer punches out the pats onto a plate in a kitchen or preparation area and then places individual pats onto serving plates for the consumer, for example, a restaurant patron.
This process also suffers from a number of disadvantages:                The bottoms of the mold pockets of the package are concave, and the package may be somewhat unstable when it rests on the concave pockets.        The pats are not loose in the package and must be ejected after shipment.        The pats must be within a certain temperature range in order to be ejected cleanly, and proper ejection technique must be followed. Many institutional customers do not exercise proper temperature control and/or ejection techniques, and pats can be damaged or ruined during ejection.        The package contains multiple pats and is not used for individual servings.        